Green Options

A new drilling study has definitively dated the Amazon River at over 11 million years old, and it has held its current form for at least the last 2.4 million years.

The Amazon is one of the two longest rivers in the world, and its flood basin is home to one third of all the species on Earth. Discovering the river’s age is a stark reminder of just how ancient and intertwined the Amazonian ecosystem is, including the immensely rich biodiversity which calls it home.

The mission of Amazon Watch is: “to work with indigenous and environmental organizations in the Amazon Basin to defend the environment and advance indigenous peoples’ rights in the face of large-scale industrial development-oil and gas pipelines, power lines, roads, and other mega-projects.”

If you work in San Francisco and want to take an inspirational lunch break tomorrow, pounce on over to the Amazon Watch Celebration Luncheon from 12 noon - 1:30 pm at the Green Room, War Memorial Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue, Second Floor. Entry is complimentary, but just to be sure call and reserve a spot: 415-487-9600. The hour and a half lunch will celebrate recent victories in the Amazon and protecting the wildlife and indigenous peoples inhabit it. Luis Yanza (the Goldman Environmental Prize winner from Ecuador) will be speaking.

The environment and interior ministries in Peru have announced plans to set up a special task force to safeguard forests and monitor the rivers in the Amazon basin. The special force will be made up of around 3,000 officers to be known as the Environment Police.